Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Evil Cultivator and Golden Scale Beast
As the sunset dipped into the mountains, the nocturnal birds within the depths of the range began to sing.
Ye Jingcheng rode the flying ship and finally caught sight of that vast bamboo forest.
Upon arrival, he finally relaxed, and the Spiritual Stone he was absorbing was put away into his pouch.
He also placed the Red Flame Fox and Jade Ring Rat into the Spirit Beast Bag.
Near Taihang Market, he couldn’t make a move.
There were Purple Mansion Cultivators stationed here all year round, and just now, he felt a faint presence of a Divine Sense following him. Although the Jade Ring Rat wasn’t squealing incessantly, it was still rather uneasy.
In the wilds, if a cultivator is walking quickly, it’s not necessarily because they’ve been intimidated by another’s strength, it’s also possible they’re seeking reinforcements.
This was why Ye Jingcheng rushed here without delay, disregarding the loss of Qi Recovery Pills.
Descending from the Spiritual Ship, he cast a spell and the bamboo forest parted, revealing a small path.
Walking through the path, he finally entered the market, which was bustling with people.
This made him feel rather strange; Taihang Market doesn’t allow ordinary cultivators to stay overnight. Some cultivators, unwilling to spend Spiritual Stones, would leave the market early.
Ye Jingcheng arrived at the Ye Family Shop where several loose cultivators were inquiring about the prices of spirit beasts.
"Thirteenth Aunt!"
"Jingcheng, you’re here! Your Uncle is in the inner courtyard!"
Ye Jingcheng went directly to the inner courtyard.
"Uncle!"
At this moment, Ye Xinghe was examining a Golden Scale Beast. This beast resembled a mountain dog but was covered in a full layer of golden scales, beautifully shaped, with sharp teeth and high strength.
It’s a highly sought-after spirit beast within the Ye Family.
Seeing Ye Jingcheng arrive, Ye Xinghe stood up:
"Jingcheng, you’re here. Did you encounter any issues on your way? Recently, there have been reports of loose cultivators disappearing!" Ye Xinghe inquired.
Upon hearing this, Ye Jingcheng instantly recalled the three people he met on his way; according to each story, they probably hadn’t spared many cultivators.
Especially now, with many cultivators still wandering around the market.
"Uncle, there were indeed some surprises. I ran into three Tribulation Cultivators, but my Red Flame Fox scared away two!" Ye Jingcheng recounted what had happened in detail.
Ye Xinghe also felt a bit strange.
Then, looking at Ye Jingcheng:
"Open that cultivator’s Storage Bag and take a look!"
Ye Jingcheng took out the Storage Bag, and after opening it, he saw several fresh corpses inside, but treasures were scarce.
There were only about ten Spiritual Stones and a few Tier One Lower magical artifacts.
The most valuable was the Tier One Middle Magic Sword held by the gray-robed cultivator that he had fought with.
"It seems there are evil cultivators around, and these robbers have been cursed with a Blood Curse." Ye Xinghe frowned.
These evil cultivators apparently needed a large amount of cultivator blood and flesh.
"Jingcheng, if there are Treasure Maps or Cultivator’s Cave Mansions appearing recently, it’s best not to trust them. I’ll take this matter to Taiyi Sect’s Master Jiang!" Ye Xinghe took the corpses and the gray-robed cultivator, heading out of the cave mansion!
With evil cultivators appearing, especially around the market, it was a significant matter.
Over time, it would surely impact the market’s revenue.
Ye Jingcheng nodded, his face showing some fear. If, on that day, he had stayed where he thought he scared away those two, and they brought the evil cultivators behind them, it would truly be a life-or-death situation.
Fortunately, he was just an Alchemy Master and could remain at the market.
Ye Jingcheng decided that until he breakthrough past the Late Stage of Qi Cultivation, he wouldn’t leave the market.
He walked towards the Golden Scale Beast, intrigued by Ye Xinghe’s evident care for it.
Squatting down, he observed the Golden Scale Beast; it wasn’t very large, its golden armor still a pale yellow, indicating it had not matured, but its eyes were exceptionally bright and fiercely spirited!
What surprised him was that the Treasure Book within him automatically turned a page.
This page revealed a larger Golden Scale Beast, resembling the shadow of a Qilin, though the shadow was too blurry to be identified.
Compared to the Red Flame Fox’s nine tails, freely flying with Celestial Fire, it fell short.
But it equally demonstrated the Golden Scale Beast’s extraordinary nature.
This made Ye Jingcheng’s heart pound excitedly.
This was the second spirit beast cub he had encountered that caused a reaction from the Ancient Book; the first was the Red Flame Fox, and this was the second.
If possible, he naturally wanted to purchase it.
This Golden Scale Beast may be named Golden Scale, but it was indeed an Earth Attribute spirit beast, and he had an Earth Spirit Root; if used correctly, he could choose a dual attribute cultivation technique to accelerate his cultivation speed.
However, with his uncle absent, he couldn’t inquire about the price.
But he estimated it wouldn’t be less than five hundred Spiritual Stones. When he bought the Red Flame Fox, he got a bargain, but the Golden Scale Beast was healthy and had great selling appeal.
The crucial issue was that his funds were truly tight.
He only had slightly over a hundred Spiritual Stones and had exhausted his family Contribution Points.
Unless he sold some magical artifacts.
"Jingcheng, you’ve arrived?" Ye Jingli emerged from the room, surprised to see Ye Jingcheng.
He then expressed concern, knowing that currently, no other Late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivators from the Ye Family were at the market.
Given the current situation...
"Brother Liu, this journey was indeed dangerous!" Ye Jingcheng recounted the events to Ye Jingli again.
Ye Jingli shared some of his experiences, which Ye Jingcheng intently noted.
Good experiences and combat techniques were absorbed, and for anything inadequate, he wouldn’t think less of it.
For him, the more he understood this world of cultivation, the more cautious he needed to be.
Cultivators may experience side effects from consuming Spirit Pills, leading to Erysipelas, but spirit beasts which awaken bloodlines do not, thus his Ancient Book and spirit beasts like the Red Flame Fox complement his path, promising a bright future.
If carelessly slipping and falling prematurely, that would be a real grievance.
After chatting for a while, Ye Jingli returned to his room, planning to diligently cultivate for a while and refine more magical artifacts.
To exchange for a good elixir, aiming to breakthrough to the Sixth Layer of Qi Cultivation.
He also bought Spirit Nourishing Pills from Ye Jingcheng.
Since purchasing Spirit Pills from Ye Jingcheng, he found his Cyan-Scaled Python growing exceptionally well.
Ye Jingcheng later learned that the spirit beast was actually placed here by another cultivator, and concerning the specifics, Ye Jingli didn’t know much either.
Seeing this, Ye Jingcheng could only give up, returning to his room to cultivate and recover.
He had practically escaped back, and even though he used Qi Recovery Pills and Spiritual Stones, his Spiritual Energy was only at half capacity. Now that he was in a safe place, he naturally wouldn’t continue to waste Qi Recovery Pills to restore Spiritual Energy.
After cultivating for two full hours, his Spiritual Energy was completely restored, and he exhaled a breath of turbid air, his eyes becoming clearer.
Although Li Fire Skill was not a high-tier technique, it was stable, solid, and restored Spiritual Power quickly.
Ye Jingcheng planned to begin alchemy right away, noting that after the Red Flame Fox had been using fire more frequently, it could now consecutively emit four Fireball Skills.
An increase in power signified progress in strength!
This indicated that using the Red Flame Fox in alchemy was a correct approach.